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Showing posts from February, 2018

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork, Cilantro Rice & Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

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How to layer a Cafe Rio Salad: TORTILLA. I love to cook the raw Tortilla Land tortillas for our Cafe Rio salads or burritos. We usually sprinkle and cook some cheese on them. CILANTRO LIME RICE (from Amber's Kitchen).  2 Tablespoons butter (or avocado oil) 1 small onion, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1, 3 oz. can diced green chili’s 2 cups uncle bens parboiled rice 1/2 tsp salt 4 cups chicken stock/broth 1/2 cup chopped cilantro juice of one lime 2 green onions, chopped In a medium pot over medium high heat, melt butter and add onion. Sauté until onion is soft, add garlic and sauté for one more minute. Add green chili’s, salt, 4 cups broth and 2 cups rice. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 18 minutes. Turn off heat, Remove the lid, fluff with fork, and add cilantro, green onion, and lime juice.  (Start 40 minutes before dinner) PINTO BEANS (from Amber's Kitchen): 2 pounds dry pinto beans 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, min

Theme: Valentines

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Letter of the Week: V February Themes: My boys (ages 2, 4) go to preschool twice a week, so I planned our activities for the off days - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I printed a monthly chart (link to come) as a way to keep organized and stay on track. However, some weeks we just do activities as we go. Here's the second week at a glance: MONDAY : Letter (V is for Valentine Man): I thought these turned out so cute as we learned about Letter V! Numbers (Heart Counting): I found these hearts at the Dollar Tree. I wrote numbers 1-10 on them as well as the matching number of dots. My four placed the pom poms on the hearts and my two placed the pom poms on the dots.  Science & Sorting (Love Potions): Add in a little Love Powder (baking soda) and mix it with Liquid Love (colored baking soda) to make a potion! My boys loved this! You can talk about the colors and watch what happens when you mix two colors together.

The BEST Flubber!

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Have you ever played with Flubber before? If not, it's a MUST-DO activity at home with little ones! I have a four and two year old and they've played HOURS this week with Flubber. We added cookie cutter hearts and turned our flubber pink for Valentine's Day and have spent a lot of time cutting and rolling and stamping various objects. We especially loved stamping dinosaurs and observing their footprints. I especially love activities that require minimal prep time that creates hours of play. Ingredients. 2 cups Elmer's White Glue 2 teaspoons Borax Liquid Water Color (or small amounts of food coloring) 1 1/3 C + 1 1/2 C Warm Water Glitter or scent (optional) Instructions. In a small container, combine: 1 1/3 cup warm water 2 tsp. Borax.  Stir until borax is completely dissolved. Set aside. In a large container, combine: 1 1/2 cup warm water 2 cups Elmer's White Glue Liquid Water Color/Food Coloring Glitter or a few drops of scent (opt

Sweet & Sour Chicken

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I have been hunting for dinner rotation quality recipes for a while now and can't seem to find any that my husband and I really LOVE until we found this one from Mel's Kitchen Cafe! The sauce is so good I could lick it off my plate. The chicken was so tender and so good served over rice and broccoli. Rating: 10/10 INGREDIENTS Chicken: 2 lbs. chicken Salt & pepper 1 cup cornstarch 2 large eggs, beaten 1/4 cup canola, vegetable or coconut oil Sauce: 1/2 cup granulate sugar 4 tablespoons ketchup 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon garlic salt DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very ho

Theme: Bears

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Letter of the Week: B January Themes: My boys (ages 2, 4) go to preschool twice a week, so I planned our activities for the off days - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I printed a monthly chart (link to come) as a way to keep organized and stay on track. However, some weeks we just do activities as we go. Here's the first week at a glance: MONDAY : Art (B is for Bear): This is a simple gluing craft making a B into a Bear! I found this on Pinterest, and am not sure of the source. So darling! Sorting (Bear Counter Colors): My boys love these counting bears and cups ! There are so many ways to learn with these bears - from sorting, counting, sensory play, learning colors and patterns. You can view more ways we've played with them here . Today we played and sorted the bears by color into their corresponding "homes" (cups). Numbers (Bear Counting Cards): These Bear Counting Cards  (from Creating and Teaching

I am Thankful for Trees, Plants & Flowers

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This lesson contains ideas from the current Sunbeams Manual, " I am Thankful for Trees, Plants & Flowers ." Attention Activity: Remind the children of The Creation. You can go through this Creation Story if you'd like. Teach them that on the third day, Jesus created trees, plants, and flowers. Explain that Heavenly Father and Jesus wanted to make the earth beautiful with trees, plants and flowers. Let the children talk about experiences they have had with trees, plants and flowers. Slideshow:  Slide 2-4. Have you ever wondered what the earth would look like without flowers? Show slide 2. What colors do you see? Do you think this looks beautiful? Let's take a look at what the earth looks like WITH trees. Show slides 3 & 4. Talk about the details, colors and beauty of the trees. Slides 5-7. Let's take a look at how gardens would look without flowers. Show slide 5. What colors do you see? Do you think the dirt looks beautiful? Let&